Instrumental Invasion, 4/8/20 April 9, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio.add a comment
The April 8, 2020, Instrumental Invasion show on WCWP was the second I mixed between March 25 and 30, but the third show I recorded talk breaks for.
I made the playlist on March 22 with annotations on the 24th and while recording on the 26th. It seemed like a good idea to share my love of that Gil Shaham recording that I first heard on The Weather Channel 25 years ago, but it’s such a long title. As I said on the air, I’ll just stick to jazz.
Due to a technical error, the April 1 show initially reran. I got in touch with Dan Cox, WCWP Director of Broadcasting, and he corrected the error after the second segment of the first hour.
Below is the show’s aircheck (or click here). The ones from the first two segments and the start of the third are directly from my mix with the broadcast multiband compressor effect applied. The rest is from the FM stream.
Instrumental Invasion, 4/1/20 April 2, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio.add a comment
The April 1, 2020, Instrumental Invasion show on WCWP was the first of six shows I recorded from March 25 to 30. My foolhardy plan was to livestream my recording of talk breaks for all six shows on March 25. It took way too long just to record the first show’s talk breaks. Not only that, but few people watched the stream. So, I abandoned it before recording a second set of talk breaks, which became the fourth show. That was as far as I went.
I encountered issues in Adobe Audition 3.0 while recording the second aircheck of the first show. The program constantly froze. I had issues recording with my USB interface before, but that was the last straw. So, I subscribed to Adobe Audition 2020 and the problem went away.
I was only able to mix multitrack sessions for this show on March 25. I’m required to record three segments per hour, six in all. I used one of Audition’s templates: Radio VO with Music Ducking. It was the only time I’ve used a template, so this show will sound different from the ones to follow.
Work on the playlist began on March 22 with annotations on the 24th and while mixing and re-recording. I miscalculated time remaining in the second segment of hour 2. I had to replace “Sorceress” by Return to Forever with the shorter “No Mystery” and redo the talk break coming out of it.
Unfortunately, each show has the potential to have anywhere from part of a segment to none of the show airing. The last few minutes of this show were cut off. I’m glad that was it.
Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:
4/24 UPDATE: I recorded the May 20 show yesterday, which included another song from Chet Baker’s She Was Too Good to Me album: “Autumn Leaves.” I turned don’t know why my brain turned “to” into “for,” but I realized my error yesterday. I missed the error with “It’s You or No One” in the premiere.
Instrumental Invasion to air weekly on WCWP! March 30, 2020
Posted by Mike C. in Audio, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Technology.add a comment
Wednesday night will mark the beginning of my first weekly stint at WCWP since the Evening Jazz era a decade ago.
Instrumental Invasion with Mike Chimeri began life on WCWP in 2015 as a new name for my annual Homecoming Weekend show. I’ve done two shows a year: a live one on Fridays and a prerecorded show early on Sunday mornings. The name Instrumental Invasion was recycled from my WGBB-AM show in the mid 2000s.
The closure of WCWP during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a call for alumni to create original programming to run while the station was entirely automated. After receiving the blessing of WCWP Director of Broadcasting Dan Cox, I planned out six shows to record. I’ve been recording since last Wednesday and will record the last of the initial six today.
Two days ago, Dan gave me a regular slot: Wednesdays from 9PM to 11PM for at least ten weeks. I am thrilled to be given this opportunity and I thank Dan very much for it.
Make plans to listen to WCWP every Wednesday night starting April 1. If you can receive the signal, you can listen on your radio at 88.1 FM. Otherwise, go to WCWP.org or the WCWP app for iOS and Android.
In case you’re wondering, here’s my setup:
I use an Audio-Technica AT2020 XLR condenser mic with a compatible windscreen by Whisperteknik. (If that windscreen is unavailable, get one by VocalBeat instead.) The mic is connected to a Koolertron shock mount which attaches to a Neewer boom scissor arm stand. A six-foot AmazonBasics XLR male to female cable runs to a FocusRite Scarlett 2i2 USB interface. I’d been using Adobe Audition 3.0 for 12 years, but it does not take kindly to USB, regularly freezing while recording. Adobe Audition 2020 does not have that problem. I subscribed to the software early in the recording process. My shows are recorded in multi-track sessions. Airchecks are recorded and music and liners are added. The duration of an aircheck depends on how much time is left in a segment or to the next song’s post. Audition 2020 lets you record files up to 48 kHz and 32 bits, but I stick with 44.1 and 16.
Pat Contri, Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the SNES Library December 2, 2019
Posted by Mike C. in Baseball, Basketball, Books, Education, Football, Internet, Media, Radio, Sports, Technology, TV, Video, Video Games.Tags: guide to the nes library, guide to the snes library, pat contri, pat the nes punk, ultimate nintendo
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I photographed my copy of Guide to the SNES Library shortly after completing it Sunday
Two months and one day after completing Pat Contri‘s Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the NES Library – which I reviewed here – my pre-order copy of the special edition of his Guide to the SNES Library arrived on my front porch.
Once again, the guide is as big as an educational textbook. Now that I think of it, this book is educational. There’s much to learn about the Super Nintendo Entertainment System within its 445 pages (plus a few pages listing Kickstarter contributors).
When I tweeted on Sunday that I finished reading, Pat wondered what my muscle gains were, considering the book’s heft. I replied thusly:
I was late in boarding the NES bandwagon, not getting a console until February 1990, over four years after its initial release in the New York Metropolitan Area. The Super NES, released on August 23, 1991, is a different story. Besides commercials, my first exposure to the console came at my friend Jessie’s house. I regularly played Super Mario World and F-Zero on her projection TV as 1991 gave way to ’92. After saving up part of the cost, my parents got a console for me and my sister Lauren in late January. In the months that followed, I spent many hours playing games, especially the aforementioned Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart (an 11th birthday present), and Mario Paint. I discovered all of Super Mario World’s exits and repeatedly watched the end credits. I would get emotional at the scene with the Yoshi eggs hatching. I successfully beat all cups in Super Mario Kart in all cc modes, and I loved the Rainbow Road theme. And as a weather buff, I had fun making radar loops with Mario Paint’s animation feature.
In nearly 28 years, I’ve amassed a collection of 46 Super Nintendo games. Reading this guide inspired me to add to that collection, at least somewhat.
Guide to the SNES Library chronicles all games released in North America and PAL territories in alphanumerical order, from 3 Ninjas Kick Back and The 7th Saga to Zool and Zoop. (Yes, those are their names.)
Pat Contri was not alone in reviewing the games. Returning from Guide to the NES Library are Asheton “Ashi” Phinney (I loved his alliteration, puns, and rhymes), Jim Evans, and Karen Niemla. The new recruits are Daniel Anderson, Daniel Greenberg, Dagan Moriarty, Kyh Yang, Alli Flanagan (who, like Pat, appeared in The Video Game Years), Pete Skerritt, and Mike Vito. (12/14 UPDATE: Dagan, Kyh, and Pete also wrote reviews for the third edition of the NES guide.) Visual effects artist Yoshi Vu provided cart and hardware images, and additional cover art. The foreword was written by Jirard Khalil, a.k.a. The Completionist.
As with Guide to the NES Library, most pages in Guide to the SNES Library are devoted to two games. An image from one of the games is blurred in the background with two images from each game appearing above and below the review. The top of the page shows the games’ cartridge designs and lists their genre, release date, developer, publisher, number of players, special features, availability during the SNES’s life (from “very common” to “extremely rare”), and star rating. There are 10 ratings that range from half a star (one small star, “poor”) to 2 1/2 stars (two big stars and one small star, “average”) to 5 stars (five big stars, “classic”). Reviews can take up anywhere from a fifth of the page to a third of it, followed by the reviewers’ “reflections.” Reviewers are identified by their initials (i.e. PC, PS, AP, DG).
Eleven landmark titles with five-star ratings got full page reviews, including EarthBound, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Mario World and its sequel, and Super Metroid. Those reviews take up more space on the page than regular half-page reviews. I only own four of the games out of those eleven, and only two that I listed here. Some five-star games only got half a page, such as Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest, Super Street Fighter II, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time. I have two of those, along with one that I didn’t mention. You’ll have to buy the book to find out which other five-star games were only on half a page and which got the full page treatment.
The tone of game reviews ranged from clinical to critical, but not in your face or obnoxious. I’m just glad the SNES versions of Tetris 2 and Yoshi’s Cookie weren’t treated as harshly. As I mentioned earlier, I currently have 46 SNES games, and I plan on buying some of the easier-to-obtain games in the book with ratings of 4, 4 1/2, or 5 stars to add to the collection. If they cost over $100, forget it. No Pocky & Rocky for me.
There were plenty of sports games released for the Super Nintendo that I read about. At the moment, I only have four: NBA Hangtime (which I also have on the Genesis and Nintendo 64), NBA Jam: Tournament Edition, True Golf Classics: Pebble Beach Golf Links and Super Bases Loaded. While reading about Midway games like NBA Jam, I learned who that the voice of most of those games was Tim Kitzrow. Besides NBA Jam, Tim also voiced the NFL Blitz series, which I enjoyed on the N64. He included video of an appearance on FOX Sports West on his website:
NBA Hangtime, Midway’s successor to NBA Jam, was voiced by longtime Bulls TV play-by-play announcer Neil Funk, who is retiring at the end of this season. Other TV announcers and analysts to lend their voices to sports games on the Super Nintendo are Al Michaels, Jack Buck, Pat Summerall, and of course, John Madden, to name a few.
After 400 pages of North American and PAL releases, there are chapters on special and promo cartridges, test cartridges, select games from the Japanese Super Famicom library, a look at some unreleased games (by Evan Gowan of SNES Central), and the SNES console and its accessories.
Guide to the SNES Library concludes with supplemental articles. Three of the articles were based on the authors’ YouTube videos. James Rolfe‘s “The Console Wars: SNES vs. Sega Genesis” was taken from a two-part video in 2012, which was combined into one part on the Cinemassacre Plays subchannel:
James and Pat Contri’s friendship dates back to their early days on YouTube. They’ve occasionally collaborated on videos. In fact, their latest went up on Saturday night:
Kelsey Lewin‘s supplemental article was on the Life Fitness LifeCycle Exertainment Bike, based on her video from last year:
In addition to her YouTube channel, Kelsey is the co-owner with her husband Cody of Pink Gorilla Games and co-director with Frank Cifaldi of The Video Game History Foundation. For you sports fans, Kelsey’s father is play-by-play announcer Josh Lewin. You may know him from his stints with the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers on TV, and the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Chargers, and UCLA Bruins football and men’s basketball on radio. Those and other credits can be found here.
And speaking of sports, the third article based on a video was Norman Caruso‘s Gaming Historian 2016 episode on Nintendo‘s ownership of the Seattle Mariners, which he posted as Nintendo was selling most of their shares. The episode had periodic quote readings by YouTubers, and Pat read a quote – in a sinister tone – from Fay Vincent, commissioner of Major League Baseball at the time of Nintendo’s purchase. Unfortunately, MLB forced the removal of the video, so I can’t embed it here.
As for the rest of the supplemental articles, Chris Kohler’s entry on the SNES CD-ROM originally appeared on Kotaku last September. Roger Barr, Andre Meadows, and Karen Niemla supplied original articles. It’s worth reading each article, especially the ones based on videos so you can see differences in text.
It took 19 days to read 445 pages of Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the SNES Library. Once again, I kept a journal of how many pages I read per day. Dividing 445 by 19, I averaged about 24 pages a day. I mostly imagined my own voice in my head as I read the reviews, but I occasionally thought of certain public figures narrating them. I had Pat’s voice in mind when I read his reviews.
Guide to the SNES Library was another great read! Thanks to Pat Contri and his fellow reviewers Ashi Phinney, Daniel Anderson, Daniel Greenberg, Kyh Yang, Karen Niemla, Alli Flanagan, Jim Evans, Dagan Moriarty, Pete Skerritt, and Mike Vito.
For those that grew up with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, are collecting for it, or just want to learn about it, this book is a must. There are eight versions available for purchase ranging from $59.99 to $99.99, or $29.99 for just the digital download. I have the $79.99 special edition, but I recommend the physical/digital combo at $99.99. I should have bought that in the first place, but I didn’t mind paying an extra $10 yesterday for the digital download and paying the same price to download the NES guide. Having the books physically and digitally is the ultimate experience.
There will eventually be an Ultimate SNES Game Guide Collecting app for iOS and Android. I will update this post when it’s available.
12/12/20 UPDATE: A year has passed and there’s no app. Forget what I said.
9/16/24 UPDATE: The Ultimate NES app was rebranded the Ultimate Guide app and now includes options for NES and SNES (“Super NES”). It costs $6.99 to unlock the full SNES library.
Ryan and Mike at LIU Post, Teddy and Abe on exhibit October 30, 2019
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Art, Education, History, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Technology, Travel, TV, Video.add a comment
I concluded my Monday post this way:
With a pair of loose ends successfully tied up, it’s on to the next post, whenever that may come.
It turns out you only had to wait two days for the next post. The focus this time is another trip to LIU Post, including a stroll down memory lane as I recall my undergrad years.
I walked the campus with my friend, Ryan Grabow, who graduated with me in 2004:
I also had a chance encounter with another friend of mine, LIU Post artist-in-residence Dan Christoffel, leading to a tour of his latest art exhibit. More on that later.
For many years after graduating, Ryan Grabow had been living in Fort Myers, Florida, where he directed newscasts for two TV stations owned by Waterman Broadcasting. This year, he decided to look for the same position upstate in Orlando. He now directs the morning newscast at WOFL-TV, FOX 35 Orlando.
My trip back to LIU Post with Ryan, one week removed from Homecoming Weekend, was arranged in a text message conversation we struck up during Instrumental Invasion on Friday, October 18, after I played a song by the Rippingtons. As I wrote in my comprehensive recap:
… [M]y friend Ryan Grabow texted me after I played “Silver Arrows” by the Rippingtons. When he would appear on The Mike Chimeri Show 15 years ago, he’d always say “a ripping good time” whenever I played a Ripps song. Coincidentally, the next song I played was “Dear Friend” by Patrick Bradley, a fitting title.
You can watch the aircheck here:
Ryan told me he was driving up to New York for a week-long vacation and chose Monday the 28th as our day to hang out. He would pick me up at 10AM.
This was our first time at Post together in two years. I brought along my Nikon D5500 camera and the two CDs I made to alternate between for my show. As we listened to the music on the ride to Brookville, we told one another what we’d been up to lately and I provided commentary on what was happening in my show as each song played on the CDs.
Once we arrived on campus, Ryan acknowledged the change in color on the signs, which I had first seen ten days earlier and photographed a day later. Case in point:
He quipped that the speed bumps hadn’t changed. The reference was a running gag that originated with a TV production project: “Speed control: good idea or just plain nuts?”:
Naturally, our first stop after parking was WCWP, where we spoke to receptionist Janine Celauro, my mother Lisa’s bowling teammate, and Dan Cox, Director of Broadcasting.
Ryan’s next task was going to the bursar to update his alumni contact information. So, we walked north to Kumble Hall, passing signs with alumni names on them. One of them was Fred Gaudelli:
Fred is the executive producer of NBC’s Sunday Night Football and was inducted into the WCWP Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Another was Brian Kilmeade:
Brian, a Massapequa native, co-hosts Fox & Friends on Fox News Channel, hosts The Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News Radio, and has authored a handful of books about American history. His latest is called Sam Houston and the Alamo Avengers: The Texas Victory That Changed American History.
Passing Brian’s name reminded Ryan that he helps set up remote guests for Fox & Friends and other national Fox broadcasts for the aforementioned Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, and Fox Sports 1.
I photographed Kumble’s exterior before we walked inside:
Kumble was a place I visited when meeting with my academic advisor each semester. My aunt Robin Rose was an advisor in the 1990s and early 2000s, which is how I ended up at what was then C.W. Post. Her presence was invaluable. It helped that she knew so many faculty, which made things easier for me in my first two years. It turned out the place I had the most success, WCWP, didn’t require her connections.
The bursar’s office directed us to the Alumni & Employer Engagement building, which housed the campus bookstore while Ryan and I were students.
On the way, we stopped in the Crafts Center, home to ceramics:
Professor Frank Olt was among the faculty that was connected with Aunt Robin and she recommended one of his courses to me in my second semester when I switched out of photography. I couldn’t handle film development or manually setting aperture and F-stop. It was overwhelming. I thrived in ceramics, sculpting many works that semester. I would sculpt more works in the spring of 2002, after switching out of an intimidating journalism course, and fall of 2003, the only time the course was my first choice. Via grainy digital camera photos from 2003, here are a few of my works:
I don’t know what happened to those, but here is what I was able to find in my house this morning, starting with the first thing I ever made in 2000:
I called it “Hertz Fieldhouse” because I was inspired by Conseco Fieldhouse, the recently-opened arena in Indianapolis. Since I made an outdoor stadium, I should have just called “Hertz Field.”
Lastly, a piece I photographed on film in April 2000:
I hadn’t visited Frank Olt in years – he wasn’t there when Ryan and I walked the campus in 2017 – so we were both happy to see each other. I told him about the jazz shows I had been to recently: the aforementioned Rippingtons in March, David Benoit in June, and the Bob James Trio last November. I forgot to tell him about seeing John Scofield two weeks after Bob.
Frank and I posed for a picture as he sat at a pottery wheel:
I’m so glad to know Frank, and to have known his colleague Linda Marbach while she was a professor.
This was Linda in April 2000 with graduate student Ji-Hyun:
Frank directed me and Ryan to the back room where Dan Christoffel was situated. I hadn’t seen him since he attended his friend and fellow artist Charlie Fillizola’s exhibit at Wantagh Public Library in 2013; six years and two days before Monday, in fact. Dan told us that he was about to present his latest exhibit in the Steinberg Museum of Art on the lower level of the B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library. Ryan would have to wait before updating his alumni contact info. Luckily, he didn’t mind.
Dan spoke to an audience of LIU Post art majors (at least, I think that’s what they were):
Shortly after Ryan and I came in, Dan had us introduce ourselves.
Here are some of Dan’s works, starting with Now He Belongs to the Ages on the Abraham Lincoln wing of the exhibit:
Unfortunately, I can’t make out the title on the left, but the painting on the right is Thinking Beyond:
Justice, a trompe-l’œil (deceive the eye) painting:
Two paintings of Walt Whitman: Oh captain, my Captain, inspired by Whitman’s poem after Lincoln’s assassination:
Walt Whitman in His Prime:
On to the Theodore Roosevelt wing:
In his deepest hour:
Colonel Roosevelt:
Sagamore Hill:
Nobel Prize:
Rough Rider:
At the Elk Horn Ranch, Dakota Territory:
1901 – A Very Young President:
A Young Assemblyman:
Fighting the Good Fight:
A portrait of Booker T. Washington to mark a milestone occasion: First Black Man to Have Dinner at the White House:
His Love of Reading:
Little Texas:
T.R. – His Wife and Mother Died on the Same Day; He Went out West to Deal with His Deep Grief:
The exhibit concluded with Taking the Bull by the Horns:
A Newsday article on Dan’s artistry:
A picture with Dan before departing:
Thank you, Dan, for inviting us to your exhibit. It was wonderful. I highly recommend the exhibit if you, the reader, will be at LIU Post in the near future.
Ryan and I made our way east to the Alumni & Employer Engagement building:
Leftover from Homecoming:
Ryan was given a notepad to write down his new contact information and that was that.
We took the scenic route back to Hillwood Commons:
Ryan stopped in the Arboretum Walk so I could photograph him with his iPhone for a Facebook post. I also took a photo with my camera:
Ryan has been inside The Doll House, but I never have:
Post Hall:
As an undergrad, the southwest corner of the building was home to the Academic Resource Center. It was my home away from home. I made many friends in the form of fellow students, directors, learning assistants, and annual social work interns. I remain in touch with some of them.
The northeast corner of Hillwood:
Before going up the stairs to the current campus bookstore, which was once home to the museum, we passed a sign that explained the presence of Dan Christoffel’s exhibit:
Once in the bookstore, I planned on buying a sky blue polo shirt that said “Long Island University,” convinced to buy one after seeing Jeff Kroll (right) and Neil Marks (left) sporting them during the Homecoming game:
I was hoping for a shirt that said “LIU,” but when I initially visited the bookstore ahead of my radio show, it seemed only shirts emblazoned with the full name were available. But seeing Jeff and Neil in the shirts convinced me to buy upon my return with Ryan. On this day, I searched the rack where the shirts hung to look for my size: medium. Once I saw the letter M, I blindly reached for the shirt, and was surprised to find the holy grail: an “LIU” shirt!
Meanwhile, Ryan bought a windbreaker that said “Long Island University,” something to wear on cool winter mornings in Orlando. I’m proudly wearing my “LIU” shirt as I write this post, and it will be part of my warm/hot weather rotation.
We made one more stop at WCWP to say goodbye to Dan Cox and Janine Celauro. I had Janine take our picture:
Coincidentally, our friend Bernie Bernard was on the display behind us.
Ryan planned on stopping at Wendy’s on Glen Cove Road in Greenvale, but it was closed for renovations. So, we proceeded to our next stop – Micro Center in Westbury – looking for a place to eat on the way. We settled on Applebee’s in Roosevelt Raceway Center. Inside, besides eating our entrees, we talked about Ryan’s job at FOX 35 Orlando, about former WCWP Director of Operations Joe Manfredi (now at SUNY Old Westbury where he serves as station manager for OWWR), and other things. We walked around Micro Center for 45 minutes, browsing but not buying. Ryan didn’t leave empty-handed, though, buying a few mouse pads.
Ryan was nice enough to take me grocery shopping at the Levittown Stop & Shop, then we hung out at my house for an hour. After talking about a few YouTube channels in the car, he recommended the channel Technology Connections. I chose a couple of videos to watch on the CED (Capacitance Electronic Disc). (A third video on the subject was released yesterday with a fourth still to come.)
After that, we said our goodbyes until his next visit. It was enjoyable 7 1/2 hours.
It’s always great to see you, Ryan. As I said on the air, you’re a dear friend. I hope you don’t mind that I dipped into the archives with the speed bump video.
2019 LIU Post & WCWP Homecoming Weekend October 21, 2019
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Football, History, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Military, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Travel, Video, Weather.2 comments
Other recaps: 2008, 2009, WCWP 50th Anniversary (2011), 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022
Another WCWP Homecoming Weekend has come and gone at LIU Post. This is a recap of all three days of the campus radio station’s alumni-hosted block of programming, including coverage of the LIU Sharks‘ Homecoming game against the Saint Francis Red Flash.
Before the proper recap, an explanation about what’s changed since last year. Starting with the fall 2019 semester, Long Island University athletics for the Brooklyn and Post campuses have merged, which means one color set, one team name, and one big move to NCAA Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision). The LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds and LIU Post Pioneers are now, collectively, the LIU Sharks. Now, the recap.
Two days in advance, I scheduled an Uber pickup at my house on Friday at 10AM. The driver was prompt, parking at the curb. With my equipment in tow, I hopped in the backseat and the drive began. I was dropped off at the Abrams Communications Building, home to WCWP, at 10:28. I set down my equipment and set up my laptop in studio 3 on one of the computer tables. After visiting the campus bookstore in Hillwood Commons, I returned to the station and set up the tripod, camcorder, and shotgun mic in studio 4. I was going to record the first show of Homecoming Weekend: Art Beltrone’s PostScripts talk show. Back by my laptop, I connected a portable radio tuned to 88.1 FM to an audio recorder and began recording at 11:50. Then, I walked into studio 4 and waited for PostScripts to begin.
To my left was this banner:
The Long Island University colors are blue for Brooklyn and gold for Post. As you’ll see in the Saturday pictures, the campus’s green signs were all painted sky blue.
Show time:
Art’s first guest was Joan Yonke, the LIU Post Campus Director of Employer and Alumni Engagement (I accidentally left out the “Employer and” part in the show video):
Art’s next guests were Jeff Kroll, who engineered the show…:
…and his wife Pat, who coordinated the guests:
After playing the Krolls’ (and the Yonkes’) wedding song, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” by Frankie Valli, a milestone was acknowledged:
Exactly 58 years ago – October 18, 1961, at 12:15 PM – WCWP signed on as an AM carrier current station. Art Beltrone was the first student voice ever heard on its air. In honor of the occasion, the sign-on was played at 12:15 in 2019.
Art listened fondly:
When the first non-student voice, Dennis Sullivan, tossed back to Art on the tape, Jeff cued Art in the present:
Following “Hello, Dolly!” by Louis Armstrong, Bill Mozer dropped by:
Jeff Kroll joined in the conversation:
For the last hour, Art spoke to fellow alumni and Vietnam Veterans, Jack Cassidy and Mike Padula:
Jack Cassidy:
Mike Padula:
Art, Jack, and Mike also spoke to guests over the phone, including John LiBretto, Jim Harley, and Ron Zappardino. I had to leave studio 4 at 1:30 to set up for my show, Instrumental Invasion with Mike Chimeri, in studio 2.
Here are portions of PostScripts, some of which were photographed above:
When 2PM came, Art handed off to me, I played a legal ID, and began my show. I thanked Art and all of his guests, then played my first song: “Flash Back Friday” by bassist Julian Vaughn, guitarist Nick Colionne‘s nephew.
As the song played, I went back into studio 4 to take a picture of Jack Cassidy, Jeff Kroll, Art Beltrone, and Mike Padula:
While my second song, “Illuminate” by Steve Oliver, was playing, Pat Kroll took the obligatory photo of me at the board in studio 2:
There was also time for Art’s friend Ed Keller to take our picture:
The show proceeded from there with little to no hiccups. Here were my surroundings:
During my show, Bill Mozer moved the livestream webcam from studio 4 to 2. We spoke while I was off mic. One of the liners I played was of Dan Ingram, legendary New York DJ and commercial voice talent, while visiting the station in 1968. Back then, the university was known as C.W. Post College. The liner went like this:
Hi there, Kemosabe. This is Big Dan Ingram. Whenever I’m on the Merriweather campus, and my bosses in New York don’t know about it, I always listen to WCWP, at 88.1, in Brookville, New York. Love it.
“Merriweather” referred to Marjorie Merriweather Post.
Bill, who worked with Dan at WABC, remarked that he was never “on the Merriweather campus” – besides that day – so he therefore never listened to the station. I replied that he was humoring the students that recorded him.
Bobby Guthenberg, a.k.a. Bobby G., complimented my playlist on Facebook, and my friend Ryan Grabow texted me after I played “Silver Arrows” by the Rippingtons. When he would appear on The Mike Chimeri Show 15 years ago, he’d always say “a ripping good time” whenever I played a Ripps song. Coincidentally, the next song I played was “Dear Friend” by Patrick Bradley, a fitting title.
Before I knew it, I was signing off and playing my last song: “Nu Som” by Mike Stern and Jeff Lorber Fusion.
Here is the show aircheck…:
Direct link
…transitions, with the aforementioned Dan Ingram liner…:
Direct link
…and the video:
Jeff Jensen was next at 4PM:
Here are a couple of his talk breaks:
I headed home just before 5:00 and was home half an hour later. After editing the airchecks that you heard above, day 1 was complete.
I started my Saturday by editing videos, synced with the aircheck audio, and photos. Then, I got ready to return to LIU Post. While waiting to turn onto Northern Boulevard, I took out my camera so I could photograph what once was green and now is blue.
It was 1:05 when I turned into the campus’s east gate:
MyWCWP, which was WebRadio WCWP when I was a student, was renamed The Wave:
The Wave is also the name of a Southern California radio station that used to play smooth jazz: 94.7 The Wave. Since I’m not on this Wave, there’s no smooth or contemporary jazz to be found.
During the second quarter of the Sharks’ Homecoming game against Saint Francis, I walked over to Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium to take in some of the action:
I was given media access, which allowed me to go up to the press box…at least at first. Saint Francis did not bring a crew to broadcast the game, but LIU did, from the roof. To get there, you had to climb this ladder:
Jeff Kroll (right) and Neil Marks (left) called the game:
A view from the top:
Considering the Sharks were winless coming into the game and were unlikely to score while I was on the roof, I left after I took the above pictures. Before I left, I had Pat Kroll take a photo of me:
2:25 PM UPDATE: Jeff informed that the NEC (Northeastern Conference) had a room in the press box for the video feed and conference announcers. He added:
The video equipment is also used for all play reviews. Cameras manned by WCWP students! Ours was the only radio broadcast of the game.
The walk back to WCWP:
Pioneer Lane is now Shark Street:
The Sharks fell to 0-6, blown out by the Saint Francis Red Flash 30-0. It was 9-0 after three quarters, but SFU exploded for 21 points in the first six minutes of the fourth. Factoring in the Pioneers past, this was the team’s first loss on Homecoming since 2011. It was also the first loss Jeff and Neil called since the Pioneers lost to the Iona College Gaels 9-2 in 1989.
Air traffic was moderate and a couple of planes were low enough for me to get high resolution crops. This is a DHL plane:
I think this might be Alitalia:
After the dust had settled on the Sharks’ loss, studio host John Zoni ran the “highlights”…:
…and listed the scores elsewhere in the NEC:
Due to a lung infection early in the week, Bernie Bernard was unable to make it up from Florida. Bobby G. and Mike Riccio expanded their show to fill in for her. Due to the short length of the football game, the show began at 3:45, 45 minutes early.
Bobby flew solo while Mike was in transit:
Hanging out in the studio were Jay and Arlene Elzweig…:
…and Jett Lightning, who I wanted to get a picture with:
I would pose for more pictures later.
Mike Riccio arrived in time for Bernie Bernard to call in:
Wanting to be a part of the call, I got on my knees by Bobby’s mic, holding up a Rick Wakeman CD at one point:
Once Mike was at the controls, the playlist turned to artists that appeared at Woodstock:
I came on at one point to promote the rest of the weekend, including my second Instrumental Invasion that would air at 2AM:
The big WCWP Hall of Fame announcement was set for 6:00. Before then, I went outside to the barbecue for a burger and hot dog, and some cookies for dessert.
Then, I got to meet fellow alumni Joel Mahan and Jerry Reilly, posing here with Bill Mozer:
I was so glad to see M.J. Lonardo and K.J. Mills:
M.J. complimented me on my running, which I had been writing about on Facebook, with a few milestone posts on Twitter and Instagram.
2019 WCWP Hall of Fame inductee Pete Bellotti made the announcement:
Here’s how things looked on the livestream webcam during this segment (courtesy of Ted David):
The 2020 inductees are…:
Alan Seltzer and Christina Kay!
I stood in front of the camcorder and applauded the inductees:
With the announcement complete, I began to pack up for home, but not before taking the obligatory shot of Mike and Bobby:
John Zoni’s postgame and the segments from Mike and Bobby’s show can all be seen here:
Me with John Zoni:
Dan Cox:
I owe my career in radio to Dan. He was my Broadcasting 4 professor in the spring of 2001 and recommended me to then-station manager Judy Cramer the following semester. A few weeks later, on October 5, I was on the air for the first time.
Bill Mozer:
…and Pete Bellotti:
Joel Mahan wanted a photo with Pete, as well:
The last pic of the weekend for me was Bill Mozer and Alan Boritz, who followed Mike and Bobby at 10PM:
Bill photographed the weekend with his own DSLR camera. Via the WCWP Alumni Association Facebook group, here are his photos – with “no film in the camera” – starting with John Zoni during his 6PM show on Friday:
Jay Mirabile and Pete Bellotti during Friday’s 10PM DFK Show:
The picture was taken with Jay’s phone, but Bill cropped it.
On Saturday, it’s Art Beltrone and Jay Elzweig:
Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh:
Pat Kroll and Lew Scharfberg:
And at the mic for his 10PM show, Alan Boritz:
From midnight to 4AM, WCWP had the one-two punch of Strictly Jazz with Hank Neimark, John LiBretto, and Rita Sands – which they recorded in late August – and the second Instrumental Invasion with Mike Chimeri – which I recorded at home back on September 26. It was chocolate and peanut butter back to back. In SiriusXM parlance, they were Real Jazz, I was Watercolors. Hank told the aforementioned Facebook group he was listening to the station, including his own show, from Greece, expressing what a thrill it was.
Here is the aircheck for Strictly Jazz…
Direct link
…and Instrumental Invasion:
Direct link
And of course, the latter show’s transitions…:
Direct link
I try to work in as many of the notes I write on my playlists as I can, but some notes stay on the paper.
Unfortunately, Magick Mike Hendryx’s show didn’t run, making for the second year in a row where that’s happened to a file designated for Sunday at 4AM. Strictly Jazz reran at 6AM as scheduled.
I spent Sunday working on this post and periodically listening to WCWP. Like last year, Jay LaPrise (“la-PREE”) had the first live show of the day at 8AM. Here are his last two talk breaks:
Direct link
The ladies of Prison Break Radio, Jamie Mazzo and Sara Dorchak, were next at 10AM. Here are their first four talk breaks:
Direct link
Billy the Kid (Billy Houst) followed at noon. He was later joined by Joey C. (Joe Conte) and Big L Lou (Lou Raio). Here are talk breaks from Billy’s first hour:
Direct link
Bill Mozer photographed Billy…:
…Joey C. …:
…and Lou Raio:
Billy the Kid was followed at 2PM by Joe the Honerkamp. Here are five talk breaks from his show:
Direct link
And one picture of him by Bill Mozer:
That is his index finger, not the other one.
The last three photos in this post were taken by Pat Kroll.
At 4PM, Lew Scharfberg:
Direct link
Jeff Kroll ran the board:
6PM had a Homecoming Weekend edition of Rock ‘N’ Soul Gospel with Grandfather Rock Chris MacIntosh:
Direct link
Next to last was Alana at 8PM with The Rockin’ Sunday Show, following an introduction by Jeff Kroll:
Direct link
And turning out the lights on the 60-hour block was Jeff himself from 10PM to midnight, following Alana’s lead-in:
Direct link
I was singled out in Jeff’s credits:
Mike Chimeri! Oh, Mike, a great jazz show; in fact, two of them this weekend. And always with the pictures and the videos. Thanks so much, Mike.
Thank you, Jeff. This is a labor of love for me as I know putting together Homecoming Weekend each year is for you and Pat. If it means I have restless nights as my brain contemplates what tasks I have left to do, so be it. The fruits of my labor make it all worthwhile.
It was great catching up with my fellow alumni throughout the weekend. It warms my heart to be among you.
Thank you to those that stayed with this recap to the end. I leave with Jeff’s last words last night:
Thanks to all here at WCWP. It’s been a wonderful 2019 Homecoming Weekend. We’ll get the schedules together and see what happens a year from now. And it’ll be a new decade: 2020! Thanks for tuning in to the WCWP Homecoming Weekend.
And for posterity, the schedule:
Listen for me on WCWP next weekend October 12, 2019
Posted by Mike C. in Education, Football, Internet, Jazz, Music, Personal, Radio, Sports.add a comment
All times are Eastern.
We’re a week away from Homecoming Weekend on 88.1 FM and WCWP.org. As usual, the annual programming block begins at noon next Friday and ends at midnight on Sunday night.
Once again, I’m the second host of the weekend. Art Beltrone, the first voice heard on WCWP 58 years ago to the day, kicks things off Friday at noon. I’ll be following him at 2PM with Instrumental Invasion with Mike Chimeri. You’ll hear music by Julian Vaughn, Keiko Matsui, Cindy Bradley, David Benoit, Elan Trotman, and many more.
My second Instrumental Invasion show, which I recorded over a few hours at home on September 26, will air Sunday at 2AM. It’s the usual 50-year musical journey, starting in 1969 and working in five-year increments to 2019. Along the journey, you’ll hear artists like Herb Alpert (with and without the Tijuana Brass), David Benoit and Russ Freeman (separately and together), Joyce Cooling, and even Bernie Williams. The show is the second leg of the Jazz Block early Sunday morning, preceded by Strictly Jazz, hosted by Rita Sands, Hank Neimark, and John LiBretto.
All shows can be heard at 88.1 FM, if you’re close enough to the signal, at WCWP.org, or on the WCWP app for iOS and Android.
Between Friday’s live show and Sunday’s pre-recorded show, I’ll be at LIU Post Homecoming on Saturday afternoon and evening. I’ll mostly be inside and out of the Abrams Communications Building, where WCWP is based, but I will stop by Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium to watch the LIU Sharks host the Saint Francis University Red Flash. As I type on the morning of October 11, the Sharks’ inaugural season in the Northeast Conference of NCAA Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) has been rough. They’re 0-4 and could be 0-5 by Homecoming.
Last year, there was no WCWP Hall of Fame announcement during Bernie Bernard’s show after the game, but I believe there will be this year.
I hope you’ll be listening to WCWP during as much of Homecoming Weekend as you can. Jeff Kroll closes out the weekend with his 10PM show on Sunday.
10/15 UPDATE: The Sharks fell to 0-5 on Saturday and that’s their record going into Homecoming.
10/18 UPDATE: Shortly after my previous update, Bernie Bernard informed the WCWP Alumni Association’s Facebook group that she can’t make it this year due to a lung infection. Bobby Guthenberg, a.k.a. Bobby G., will fill in for her.
Art & Lee Beltrone, Vietnam Graffiti: Messages from a Forgotten Troopship September 24, 2019
Posted by Mike C. in Books, History, Radio.2 comments
Posing with Vietnam Graffiti while writing this post
Last October, early in my Homecoming Weekend radio show on WCWP, fellow alumnus Art Beltrone, who hosted the show before mine, gave me a copy of a book he published in 2004 with his wife Lee. The book is called Vietnam Graffiti: Messages from a Forgotten Troopship.
It took nearly a year to read the book, but I finally did over three days last week.
One morning in February 1997, Art and Lee Beltrone traveled with Jack Fisk – their Keswick, Virginia, neighbor – to the James River Reserve Fleet near Fort Eustis. They assisted Fisk in research for the upcoming World War II movie The Thin Red Line. Among the ships they toured in the fleet was the General Nelson M. Walker.
The Walker dated back to the end of World War II, when it went by the Admiral H.T. Mayo. But touring the ship revealed it was a time capsule to the Vietnam era. Machinery, utensils, cleaning supplies, tables, chairs, and bunks were among the artifacts aboard, mostly intact. Soldiers bound for Vietnam wrote graffiti on the bunk canvases, including sketches, poetry, names, and personal messages.
The discovery led to a traveling exhibit called “Marking Time: Voyage to Vietnam,” which has traveled for 15 years to 35 states and over 70 venues. The exhibit will open at the National WWI (World War I) Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, and will open this November 8 and end May 31 next year. Beltrone’s exhibit is part of the New York Historical Society‘s exhibit called “The Vietnam War: 1945-1975.”
Vietnam Graffiti consists of Art’s written recollections of the Walker tour and Lee’s photographs of the fleet, the ship, and artifacts therein. There are also profiles of a few surviving veterans. I won’t spoil this post with excerpts. You’ll have to read and see for yourself. It sells for $25.
The book is 88 pages worth reading and viewing. I should have read it sooner. Thank you, Art, for blessing me with a copy, and thank you to all the soldiers who served aboard the Mayo/Walker.
In the years since the book’s publication, the Vietnam Graffiti Project was formed. On their behalf, during his show last October (1960s Post Scripts), Art presented Dan Cox, WCWP’s director of broadcasting, with one of the bunk canvases found on the Walker:
2019 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony May 14, 2019
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Football, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Travel, TV, Video, Weather.add a comment
Other Hall of Fame ceremony recaps: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020-21, 2022, 2023
Video of the ceremony can be found at the end of this post.
The eighth annual WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony was held Saturday afternoon in the Goldsmith Atrium at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of LIU Post. As you can see above, this year’s inductees were Lew Scharfberg, Fred Gaudelli, and Pete Bellotti.
The ceremony began at 1:10 with an introduction by WCWP Director of Broadcasting Dan Cox…:
…and a video narrated by Bernie Bernard, who was inducted in 2013:
This picture taken during a dissolve was a happy accident because it looks like Lew and Jeff Kroll, the Master of Ceremonies, are pointing at Pete:
Jeff at the mic as M.C.:
Dan had the honor of introducing two of the three inductees. First, was Pete Bellotti, currently of CBS Sports Radio:
Before Jeff’s interview and remembrances from the audience, Pete gave a speech:
Jay Mirabile had an interesting story:
Joe Manfredi, Director of Operations while Pete was a student, was complimentary:
Pete even acknowledged me when referencing the music I provided and hours of co-hosting for WCWP’s live broadcast from Bar Beach Park (now North Hempstead Beach Park) in 2006:
I was about 90 pounds heavier at the time, as I co-hosted with Eli W. Sen:
“It was a fun experience”:
Lew Scharfberg was next, following Jeff’s introduction:
Among Lew’s stories in his speech were the teletype bell ringing frantically on August 16, 1977, as news broke that Elvis Presley had died, and learning of the Dome Auditorium roof collapse during the Blizzard of 1978.
Bill Mozer misremembered one anecdote…:
…and had to be corrected by Dan:
He accurately recalled another:
Neil Marks ribbed Lew, leading to an impassioned defense…:
…but was also complimentary:
Dan Cox chimed in:
The obligatory camcorder shot to use as a cover photo for my YouTube channel:
…and the obligatory alternate perspective:
Lew’s son Dan gave a moving speech:
I told him afterward, “you’re a good son.”
Last up was Fred Gaudelli, who is the executive producer of Sunday Night Football for NBC Sports:
Fred had plenty of stories from his days at C.W. Post, working his way up through ESPN, introducing what became the 1st and 10 line, producing Monday Night Football and Sunday Night Football.
At one point, Dan played a clip of Fred calling a furious comeback by the Post Pioneers against James Madison in 1981:
They rallied from 21 points down with two minutes to play, winning 37-36.
Jeff’s closing remarks:
I want to thank everyone for being here today. That’ll do it. That’s it for the 2019 WCWP Hall of Fame induction. Thank you, folks.
Photo ops, starting with the three inductees:
The three inductees with Dan Cox, Bill Mozer (2013), and Jeff Kroll (2015):
Pete and his wife Bridget:
Pete with Dan Cox and Joe Manfredi:
…and me:
The early-to-mid-2000s era of WCWP:
The Scharfbergs:
Dan quickly introduced me to Fred before he left, and took a picture of us:
I posed with him 16 years earlier after he and fellow alum Dan Reagan (“Reegan”) spoke to the broadcasting class I was in:
My parting shot was of Pat and Jeff Kroll:
Pat was inducted last year along with Muffet Provost and John Commins.
Jeff was kind enough to drive me home. We had an interesting conversation along the way, and he recognized my driveway from all the times I’d photographed it after shoveling snow. (Here’s one example.)
Congratulations to Pete Bellotti, Lew Scharfberg, and Fred Gaudelli, the 2019 class of the WCWP Hall of Fame.
Here is the video:
Thanks to Dan Cox for providing the introductory video and highlights of Fred’s play-by-play. My video was shot on a Panasonic HC-V770 camcorder with a Takstar SGC-598 shotgun mic. I periodically switched to my Tascam DR-03 recording from the platform to fill gaps between raw video files and compensate for panning to the audience.
2018 LIU Post & WCWP Homecoming Weekend October 15, 2018
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Football, History, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Travel, Video, Video Games, Weather.add a comment
Other recaps: 2008, 2009, WCWP 50th Anniversary (2011), 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022
In all the years I’ve recapped WCWP Homecoming Weekend, this is the first where I consolidate all days into one post. With Sunday photographic help from Pat Kroll, I’m recapping all three days of WCWP’s special block of programming, including coverage of the LIU Post Pioneers‘ Homecoming game against the Saint Anselm Hawks.
I left for the Abrams Communications Building, home to WCWP, at 11:00 on Friday morning. I was there within half an hour and I immediately got out my equipment. There were shows to record, including one for me to host.
Unlike the previous three years, I was not the first show of the weekend. That honor went to 1960s Post Scripts, hosted by Art Beltrone and Jay Elzweig, who were with WCWP when it began:
Art Beltrone:
Jay Elzweig:
The show was packed with interviews and had occasional music.
The first guest was William Rozea, part of C.W. Post College’s first graduating class in 1959:
Also among Art and Jay’s guests were Jarron Jewell, LIU Post’s senior library assistant for archives and special collections:
Rita Langdon, LIU Post Executive Director:
Mark Bilker, another member of the Class of 1959:
Alan and Carol Fritz from the Class of 1966:
Bernie Bernard, Class of 1972:
Dan Cox, Class of 1985, and WCWP Director of Broadcasting:
Art, a Marine Corps veteran, presented Dan with banner from Vietnam, part of the Vietnam Graffiti Project.
…and Edward Keller, a Vietnam Graffiti Project volunteer and fellow Marine:
1960s Post Scripts concluded with “Yesterday” by The Beatles, which led into my show, Instrumental Invasion with Mike Chimeri.
As my second song played, I took a picture of Art Beltrone and Jay Elzweig:
Before he left, Art gave me a copy of Vietnam Graffiti: Messages from a Forgotten Troopship, by him and his wife Lee.
My setup in Studio 2:
I had Jeff Kroll take a picture of me at the board. He suggested I have my headphones on:
I belong to a few Discord servers and my fellow members know I’d be on. I gave them all a shout-out at one point during my show, including the servers’ proprietors: Norm Caruso a.k.a. the Gaming Historian, Game Dave, and Anna a.k.a. Circuits & Coffee. I gave Game Dave a personal shout-out after playing a Keiko Matsui song because he recommended her music over in-game music in one of his videos. I couldn’t recall which one on the air, but it was for the Famicom game A Week of Garfield (relevant portion at 7:40, unless you want to watch the whole thing):
Now that you’ve seen that video, here is my aircheck video:
If you just want the audio, click here for it. Click here for the transitions, and a PDF of the playlist.
From one Mike to another: Magick Mike Hendryx (Mike Schanzer) followed me:
Pat and Jeff Kroll:
After the above picture, I packed up and got a ride back home. After a pasta dinner, I got to work editing Friday’s video and audio. I decided to wait until downtime after arriving back at Post on Saturday to edit Friday’s pictures.
Here is my Friday video, featuring plenty of 1960s Post Scripts, followed by two talk breaks each from my show and Mike Hendryx’s show:
I left for LIU Post at 12:30 on Saturday afternoon. Once on campus, I set up my equipment at WCWP, edited pictures on my laptop, and then headed to Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium for part of the Pioneers’ game against Saint Anselm.
I spent much of the second quarter in the press box. Calling the game were Jeff Kroll and Neil Marks:
Video of the game was also streamed online with WCWP audio:
The scoreboard console:
A defensive stop:
The Pioneers’ third touchdown drive:
“Touchdown, Pioneers!”
The extra point:
That’s the end of the first half:
The Pioneers went on to win 37-6. If this was their last game against Saint Anselm, as they are heading to Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) next season (likely under a new name), they won all 15 of them. Highlights can be viewed here.
The next few pictures were taken on the way back to WCWP:
Ted David took this great picture of me:
Banners and trophies inside the Pratt Recreation Center:
Back at WCWP…:
Jett Lightning, Lew Scharfberg (standing), Ted David, Bill Mozer, Jay Elzweig:
As usual, Bernie Bernard was on after the game:
Lisa Seckler-Roode regailed Bernie with many stories from her days working for record companies and as a personal assistant to The Who guitarist Pete Townshend:
Bernie – or rather, Maura – with her fellow reverend, Fr. Michael Tesmacher, who she and I know as Mike Tes:
Mike and I have known each other since 2002 when we worked on the public access show, The Long Island Rainbow Connection.
Jeff Jensen and his son, Jackson:
Bernie and Lisa:
Ward Henry watching Bernie’s next-to-last aircheck of her show:
Bobby G. (standing) and Mike Riccio were next:
They hosted their special Homecoming countdown show:
Joining them was Jett Lightning (center):
Mike Riccio:
Bobby G.:
Jett Lightning:
Mike and Bobby:
Before I left, I had Pat Kroll take a shot of me and John Zoni, both of us with our glasses off:
John hosted the pregame, halftime, and postgame shows. He’d go on to host a music show at midnight.
Here’s the Saturday video:
After transferring photos, videos, and audio files to my computer and eating a late dinner, I went to bed early. I woke up at 5:30 AM. My second Instrumental Invasion of the weekend was scheduled to air at 6AM. When I accessed the WCWP app on my iPhone X, I heard silence (except for light static). Apparently, there was an automation glitch that kept the scheduled 2AM and 4AM pre-records from running. At 6AM, I briefly heard the start of the 4AM show, then 12 more seconds of silence, and finally my show. Here is the aircheck, the show transitions, and the playlist.
Bobby G. informed me on the WCWP Alumni Association Facebook group that the show also aired at 2AM, which was its original slot before a change was made two weeks ahead of Homecoming. So, not only did my show air without a hitch, it aired twice! Bobby called it an “extra bonus.” Jeff Kroll added, “Yessir BONUS time!”
I listened to the entire show. I lied in bed, looking up at the ceiling for the first 45 minutes, then went to the computer to edit, which I continued to do long after the show ended.
Jay LaPrise (“la-PREE”) hosted Sunday’s first live show from 8 to 10AM. Here’s how he signed on.
I may not have been at WCWP in person on Sunday, but I was there in spirit, not just with my show, but with the show’s filename on the stream page for several hours afterward:
As the day progressed, I periodically recorded more airchecks. Here are two from Billy the Kid (Billy Houst), on from noon to 2:00.
Joe Honerkamp was at the mic from 2:00 to 4:00. Here he is with his daughter Diana:
Lew Scharfberg and Bill Mozer, with a photobombing Neil Marks:
Jeff and Pat Kroll, and Lew Scharfberg:
Neil Marks’s wife Lita:
Jeff Kroll assisting Neil Marks at the board during his 6:00 to 8:00 show with Pat Kroll:
Pat and Neil during their show:
From 8:00 to 10:00, Alana hosted a special Homecoming edition of The Rockin’ Sunday Show:
Jeff Kroll had the last shift from 10:00 to midnight:
And with that, the 41st annual WCWP Homecoming Weekend is in the books. It was a weekend I won’t soon forget, nor will my fellow alumni. I’ll leave you with the kind works Ted David left on my Facebook timeline:
May I publicly acknowledge C.W. Post alum Mike Chimeri. As I mentioned on the air during Homecoming Weekend on WCWP Saturday, his Friday jazz show was worthy of any shift at the former CD 101.9 or the current Watercolors channel on SiriusXM.
Add to that his superior skills as a photographer/archivist and he’s one amazing guy. I spent some time with him Saturday at the station and then down at the football game. Just a super talented guy, pleasant company and proud to call him a friend and “fellow alum!”
Thank you very much, Ted.
MikeChimeri.com 